Is My Zakat Fulfilled if My Father Paid It?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

My father follows the Hanafi school and, for eight years, has folded my earnings into his own wealth and paid 2.5 percent of the combined total every Ramadan.

I have now studied zakat properly and have the bank records to work out my own zakat threshold (nisab) and zakat year (hawl).

Do I have to pay for all of the last eight years?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Your father’s payments count as your zakat for all eight years, and you owe nothing for them.

You worked this out yourself and came forward before anyone asked you to. Your money sat inside your father’s wealth, and you knew he paid 2.5 percent of the whole every Ramadan.

Across eight years, you never objected. On facts like these, you can assume that he did so with your permission, so your intention was present in fact.

Intention Is Still the Condition, and Yours Was Met

Zakat is worship, and worship is not valid without an intention.

Mulla Khusraw (Allah have mercy on him) sets out the rule and its reason in one line: “The condition of its payment, meaning of its counting as discharged, is an intention, because it is an act of worship and so is not valid without an intention: an intention accompanying the payment, or accompanying the setting aside of what is owed.” [Mulla Khusraw, Durar al-Hukkam]

Umar ibn al-Khattab (Allah be pleased with him) heard the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) say, “Actions are but by their intentions, and every person shall have only what he intended.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]

In zakat, it determines validity, not only reward. What settles your case is that the arrangement you lived in carried your intention into every payment your father made.

The School Presumes Permission Inside a Household

Permission does not have to be spoken aloud to be real. Ibn Abidin (Allah have mercy on him) records the rule in Radd al-Muhtar, on the authority of Quhistani from al-Muhit, in the chapter on the zakat of fast-breaking: “Not on behalf of his wife or his adult and sane child.

Yet were he to pay on their behalf without permission, it suffices by juristic preference, because permission is there by custom, meaning where they are in his household; otherwise not.” [Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

Two things carry that ruling: an adult child, and a household in which the payer is already handling the money.

Your earnings were folded into your father’s wealth and he paid on the whole of it openly, in front of you, eight years running.

That is the custom the school reads permission from, and I hold the same presumption for zakat on wealth as for the zakat of fast-breaking.

The Case of the Stranger Is Not Your Case

Imam Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani (Allah have mercy on him) was asked about a different man: “I said: What do you say about a man who gives another dirhams in charity on a man’s behalf, from the zakat of his own wealth, without that man having instructed him, and the man then learns of it and is pleased with it?

He said: It does not suffice him for his zakat. I said: And why? He said: Because he did not instruct him. I said: And if he did instruct him, and he gave it after he instructed him, does it suffice him for his zakat? He said: Yes.” [al-Shaybani, al-Asl]

Look at who that man is. An outsider pays unbidden from his own wealth, and the owner hears of it only once it is done.

Nothing stood between them beforehand, so there was nothing for the payment to travel along. Your father was not that man.

He held your money and paid on it every Ramadan with your knowledge, which is the whole difference between approval that arrives late and permission that was already there.

From Here, the Zakat Is Yours

You have studied this now and you have your own records, so take it on yourself. Work out your own zakat threshold (nisab) and fix the date your own zakat year (hawl) turns, then pay from your own wealth from that date onward.

Tell your father you are doing so, so that neither of you assumes the other has.

Then thank him. He was not careless with your religion. He was a father keeping your money safe alongside his own and paying what he believed was due on all of it, for eight years, without ever being asked.

Allah says of zakat, “Accept charity offerings from their wealth, cleansing them and making them grow thereby to full purity in faith and deed.” [Quran 9:103; Keller, The Quran Beheld] Those eight years of his were purifying yours.

And Allah knows best.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

• [SeekersGuidance, Can I Switch My Zakat Cycle to Ramadan and What If I Paid Zakat on Behalf of Family?] — Paying a family member’s zakat at their request discharges their obligation, even if you are never reimbursed.

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani is a recognized specialist scholar in the Islamic sciences, having studied under leading scholars from around the world. He is the Founder and Executive Director of SeekersGuidance.

Shaykh Faraz stands as a distinguished figure in Islamic scholarship. His journey in seeking knowledge is marked by dedication and depth. He spent ten years studying under some of the most revered scholars of our times. His initial studies took place in Damascus. He then continued in Amman, Jordan.

In Damascus, he was privileged to learn from the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas. Shaykh Adib al-Kallas was renowned as the foremost theologian of his time. Shaykh Faraz also studied under Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi in Damascus. Shaykh Hassan is recognized as one of the leading Hanafi jurists of our era.

Upon completing his studies, Shaykh Faraz returned to Canada in 2007. His return marked a new chapter in his service to the community. He founded SeekersGuidance. The organization reflects his commitment to spreading Islamic knowledge. It aims to be reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible. This mission addresses both online and on-the-ground needs.

Shaykh Faraz is also an accomplished author. His notable work includes “Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School.” This book, published by White Thread Press in 2004, is a significant contribution to Islamic literature.

His influence extends beyond his immediate community. Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been recognized as one of the 500 most influential Muslims. This recognition comes from the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center. It underscores his impact on the global Islamic discourse.

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani’s life and work embody a profound commitment to Islamic scholarship. His teachings continue to enlighten and guide seekers of knowledge worldwide.

النصوص  ·  Source-Texts

[ملا خسرو، درر الحكام شرح غرر الأحكام]

«(وَشَرْطُ أَدَائِهَا) أَيْ كَوْنِهَا مُؤَدَّاةً (نِيَّةٌ)؛ لِأَنَّهَا عِبَادَةٌ فَلَا تَصِحُّ بِلَا نِيَّةٍ (مُقَارِنَةٍ لَهُ) أَيْ لِلْأَدَاءِ بِالْمَعْنَى الْمَصْدَرِيِّ (أَوْ) مُقَارِنَةٍ (لِعَزْلِ مَا وَجَبَ)»

[صحيح البخاري، رقم ١]

«سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ ﵁ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللهِ ﷺ، يَقُولُ: «إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا، أَوْ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا، فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ»»

[ابن عابدين، رد المحتار على الدر المختار]

«(لَا عَنْ زَوْجَتِهِ) وَوَلَدِهِ الْكَبِيرِ الْعَاقِلِ، وَلَوْ أَدَّى عَنْهُمَا بِلَا إذْنٍ أَجْزَأَ اسْتِحْسَانًا لِلْإِذْنِ عَادَةً أَيْ لَوْ فِي عِيَالِهِ وَإِلَّا فَلَا قُهُسْتَانِيٌّ عَنْ الْمُحِيطِ فَلْيُحْفَظْ»

[محمد بن الحسن الشيباني، الأصل]

«قلت: أرأيت الرجل يتصدق عن الرجل بدراهم من زكاة ماله ولم يأمره ثم علم بعد ذلك فرضي به؟ قال: لا يجزيه من زكاته. قلت: ولم؟ قال: لأنه لم يأمره بذلك. قلت: فإن أمره بذلك فتصدق به بعدما أمره أيجزيه من زكاته؟ قال: نعم»